April i, 1901.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



205 



INDIA-RUBBER GOODS IN COMMERCE. 



EXPORTS OF AMERICAN RUBBER GOODS. 



THE returns of foreign trade from the treasury depart- 

 ment for the first seven months of the fiscal year — 

 July I to January 31, inclusive — afford a favorable 

 comparison, in regard to manufactures of India-rubber, 

 with the corresponding period of former years. The showing 

 for rubber boots and shoes follows : 



Pairs 342,848 



Value $175,176 



Average per pair 51.1 cents. 



1900. 



487.531 

 $253,861 

 52.1 cents. 



1901. 

 1,212,297 

 $587,687 

 48.5 cents. 



The total exports from the United States of goods classed as 

 " Manufactures of India-rubber " during the first seven months 

 of the fiscal year beginning July i, 1900, were : 



(a) Not separately reported prior to July i, iSgg. 



Exports of reclaimed rubber during the same months have 

 amounted in value as follows : 



I 899- I 900, 



$258,747 



1898-99. 

 $194,589 



1900-01. 

 $278,271 



AMERICAN IMPORTS OF RUBBER GOODS. 



The value of the imports of India-rubber and Gutta-percha 

 goods during the first seven months of the three past calendar 

 years has been as follows, the latest figures showing a decline : 



1898-99. 1899-1900. 190C-01. 



India-rubber goods $198,308 



Gutta-percha goods 63,898 



Total Imports $262,204 



Reexports 9,846 



$329,657 

 123.673 



$262,018 

 111,445 



$453,330 

 7.816 



$373,463 

 14.2S0 



Net Imports $252,358 $445,514 $359,183 



GERMAN EXPORTS OF RUBBER GOODS. 



The exports classified by the imperial statistical office as 



manufactures of India-rubber and Gutta-percha, are reported 



by weight, in kilograms, under the headings given in the table 

 below, for which equivalent weights in pounds avoirdupois 



have been computed for The India Rubber World : 



Classification. 1893. 1896. 1898. igno. 



Coarse soft rubber goods. .. .2.565,640 3,828,220 4,312,000 5,458,860 



Fine soft rubber goods 1,647,800 1,762,800 1,894.420 258,720 



Rubber threads and sheets. . 273,240 388,300 542,520 606,100 



Textiles coated with rubber. 757,680 855,120 870,540 1,201,860 



Waterproof wearing apparel 134,860 197,560 267,300 



Elastic fabrics and hosiery .. 40,260 42,680 64,020 42,240 



Rubber toys 616,660 . ... 



Hose, belting, etc 526,680 



Rubber boots and shoes 631,840 



Hard rubber 34,320 go,86o 72,600 173,580 



Hard rubber goods 971,960 1,411,080 1,613,480 1,974,940 



Unclassified rubber goods.. . 6,800 13,640 18,040 26,180 



Total pounds. 7, 666, 060 8,847,000 9,585,180 11,168,300 



[Note.— Blanks in the above table signify that the classes of goods opposite 

 which they appear were classed, in the years to which they relate, under ditTcrent 

 headings ; for instance, '" Rubber boots and shoes," prior to last year, were in- 

 cluded in " Fine soft rubber goods," and so on. Rubber toys are now classified 



with general exports of toys, and no longer figure in rubber at all. Rubber bicycle 

 tires are included with bicycles. Rubber insulated wires are not included above. 

 — The Editor.] 



The value (in marks) of such exports during three years, has 

 increased at the rate shown in the next table : 



Classificatidn. 189S. iS9(,. 1900. 



Coarse soft rubber goods. . .. 22,736,000 26,316,000 31,0x6,000 



Fine soft rubber goods 7,750,000 8,097,000 1,411,000 



Rubber threads and sheets. .. . 2,302,000 3,026,000 2,962,000 



Textiles coated with rubber. . . 3,363,000 3,835,000 4,917,000 



Waterproof wearing apparel. . 1,392,000 1,411,000 1,883,000 



Elastic fabrics and hosiery. . . . 393,000 333,000 269,000 



Hose, belting, etc . 1,056,000 1,138,000 1,556,000 



Rubber boots and shoes 1,723,000 



Hard rubber 172,000 347.000 434,000 



Hard rubber goods 5,867,000 6,311,000 7,630,000 



Unclassified rubber goods. . . 105,000 106,000 147,000 



Total, German marks. .. . 45,136,000 50,920,000 53,948,000 



Total. English money. .. . .,^2, 256, 000 ^2, 546,000 /2. 697, 400 



Total, American money.. Sn. 284, 000 $12,730,000 $13,487,000 



[In computing values /^i is estimated a: 20 marks and $1 at 4 marks.] 



[Note.— The remarks following the tirst table apply in part to the second. Some 



changes in classification last year result in an apparent decrease in " Fine soft 



rubber goods," which is covered by increases elsewhere. — The Editor.] 



German exports under the heading "Telegraph Cables, etc.," 

 during 1900 amounted in value to 24,710,000 marks, against 

 18,269,000 marks in 1899, 12,519,000 marks in 1898, and 9,743,- 

 000 marks in 1897. The largest exports (1616 metric tons) 

 went to Spain, followed by items in excess of 1000 tons each to 

 Belgium, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, China, Japan, and Mex- 

 ico, and smaller items to seventeen other countries. 



BOSTON RUBBER SHOE EXPORTS FOR JANUARY. 



To— Pairs. Value. Value, 1900. 



England 75, 500 $32,053 $5,480 



Scotland 1,896 660 



Nova Scotia 288 732 2,416 



Newfoundland 540 328 



Miquelon 156 200 262 



Total 78,380 $33,973 $8,158 



UNJUST CLAIMS AND ALLOWANCES. 



A WESTERN rubber man, speaking of rubber thresher 

 ■^». belts, said : " I am more than glad that the cotton belt is 

 taking the place of the rubber belt, for the former never had 

 fair treatment. For example, before the threshing season, a 

 man who owns a machine comes to a storekeeper and gets a 

 rubber belt on credit, as he will have no money until the end of 

 the season. Two months later he has the money, but hates to 

 pay $40 or $50 for something that he is not going to use until 

 another year. He therefore damages the belt all he can, per- 

 haps running it against a sharp stake for half a day to fray the 

 edges, or takes pliers and rips it down the center, or cuts into 

 the side with his jackknife. Then he returns the belt to the 

 supply man, says it was no good, and refuses to pay for it, and 

 the supply man returns it to the manufacturer. Another case 

 of unjust claims and allowances." 



Rubber Bands at $3 a Pound.— A newspaper in Kansas 

 City, Missouri, has been attempting to make a sensation over 

 the allegation that a local druggist, who served recently as 

 chairman of the city and county board of election commission- 

 ers, approved bills amounting to $307.89 for rubber bands, sup- 

 plied from his own drug store, for " bunching " ballots. The 

 price charged was $3 per pound. 



